Learn why people trust wikiHow
How to Make a Newspaper on Microsoft Word
Co-authored by wikiHow Staff
Updated: October 17, 2019

DESIGNING YOUR PAPER CREATING YOUR PAPER v

Part 1 of 2:
Designing Your Paper

1
Examine a few different newspapers. To understand how the basic elements of a newspaper work together, look at how the following elements of each paper come together:
Stories – The meat of the paper, where the majority of the text is.
Images – Photos and graphics are an essential piece of newspaper design. The break up large swaths of text and help provide context for stories.
Headlines – The headline is the first thing the reader will see before deciding whether or not the story is worth their time.

2
Account for printer size. Unless you have access to an industrial-sized printer, your document won’t be able to be more than the 8.5-inch-by-11-inch size that most printer paper comes in.
This is the default page size setting for Microsoft Word on most computers.

3
Plan your layout before beginning. It will help to have a basic idea of your paper’s design before opening Word and messing with the formatting. Take a few sheets of scratch paper and sketch out a few different designs.
Design different pages. The front page will look significantly differently than inside pages, and different sections will have slightly different styles.
Draw lines to see how columns will affect the flow of your paper. Too many columns will make your text too crowded, while too few columns will lead to your stories appearing blocky.
Try placing text blocks in different places on your scratch page. Wrap text around images, or try placing an image directly above or below the story that it’s related to.
Experiment with headline placement. Headlines need to grab the reader’s attention, but they can’t be so large that they’re distracting.

Advertisement
Part 2 of 2:
Creating Your Paper
1
Open Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word program icon, which resembles a white "W" on a dark-blue background.
2
Click Blank document. It’s a white box in the upper-left side of the page. Doing so will open a new, blank document.
Skip this step on a Mac.
3
Add a title to your newspaper. Type in the title of your newspaper or the headline that you want to use.
4
Start a new line. Press the ↵ Enter key to jump down to a new line.
This step is so that you can add columns without dividing the title.
5
Click Layout. This tab is in the dark-blue ribbon at the top of the Word window. Doing so will open the Layout toolbar below the ribbon.
6
Click Columns. It’s on the left side of the Layout toolbar. A drop-down menu will appear.
7
Click More Columns…. This option is at the bottom of the Columns drop-down menu. A window will appear with additional options.
8
Select a column number. For example, click Two at the top of the window to divide your paper into two columns.
You can also change the number in the "Number of columns" box to your preferred number of columns.
9
Click the "Apply to" drop-down box. It’s in the lower-left side of the window.
10
Click This point forward. This option is in the drop-down menu. Doing so will apply your columns to your document with the exception of your title.
11
Click OK. This will split your Word document into two or more columns (depending on how many you chose).
12
Add your written content. Start with a title, then press Enter}} and begin writing a piece. When you get to the end of a piece, skip a couple of lines and then begin another title and piece.
As you type, the left-most column will fill up first and then feed into the right column(s).
13
Insert photos. Click the place in your newspaper where you want to insert a photo, then click the Insert tab, click Pictures, select a picture, and click Insert in the bottom-right corner of the window.
You can shrink or enlarge your photo by clicking and dragging one of the picture’s corner knobs in or out.
To wrap text around the photo, click the photo, then click the Format tab, click Wrap Text, and click a wrap text option.
14
Center your newspaper’s title. Click the Home tab, highlight the title, and then click the "Centered" icon, which resembles a stack of centered horizontal lines in the "Paragraph" section of the toolbar.
15
Format your newspaper. There are countless things you might want to change about your newspaper before you save it, but there are a few main things you’ll likely need to change:
Text Font and Size – Highlight the text that you want to change, then click the downward-facing arrow next to the current font in the "Font" section of the Home tab. Select a new font, then select a size in the numbered drop-down box next to the font box.
Bold Titles – Highlight the title(s) you want to change, then click B in the "Font" section to make the text bold. You can also click the U or I button here to underline or italicize the text, respectively.
16
Save your work. Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or ⌘ Command+S (Mac) to save your newspaper, then select a save location, enter a title, and click Save. Your newspaper is ready to go!
Advertisement
Community Q&A
Question
How can I make the first letter larger like newspapers do?
Community Answer
Place your text cursor on the letter in question, then click "insert" and select "drop cap."
Not Helpful 23 Helpful 42
Question
What is the font used in newspapers?
Community Answer
Times New Roman is the most common ‘newspaper’ font. This will give it the authentic look.
Not Helpful 5 Helpful 16
Question
How can I add a picture in the first column only so that the text will still flow?
Community Answer
Wrap the image specifically, so text surrounds it. Place it where you want it, then click wrap image.
Not Helpful 20 Helpful 29
Question
How do I customize the headline so that it looks like old era newspapers?
Community Answer
On Microsoft word, you can use the font Old English Font to make your article look realistic.
Not Helpful 7 Helpful 12
Question
How can I change the font of my newspaper?
Community Answer
On the Home tab, there will be a button that says "Old English Font" or whatever your current font is. Then you can click the arrow on the right and it will give you a list of fonts to choose from.
Not Helpful 4 Helpful 5
Question
How do I make a newspaper with an odd number of pages?
Community Answer
Print one sided — if your odd place falls somewhere other than the end. Or just have a blank page at the end. You could sign it by hand.
Not Helpful 28 Helpful 23
Question
How many pictures or images should I put in a newspaper article?
Community Answer
It depends on the article, but probably no more than one or two. Your article should be mostly text.
Not Helpful 2 Helpful 3
Question
How do I choose the design for my newspaper?
Community Answer
Have a look at different newspapers or newspaper templates and choose which one suits your newspaper best, or you could create your own.
Not Helpful 4 Helpful 2
Question
How can I box the columns to make it look like an actual newspaper on MS Word?
Community Answer
There are different ways to do this. The easiest one is to click the shapes icon, select lines and connectors, then put lines around your text.
Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4
Unanswered Questions
How do I get page numbers on my four page newspaper?
Answer
Which feature is used to display the text in the newspaper?
Answer
Ask a Question

Submit

Advertisement
Tips
Check out handy newspaper fonts, like Old English Text. In order to really make your Microsoft Word publication look "newsy," you may want to look into what kinds of fonts are most popular with established newspapers. A variety of websites and print resources can show you the fonts that newspaper printers have used over the years.
Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Advertisement
Warnings
If you don’t select "Black and White" when printing your newspaper, the printing itself will likely be expensive.
Not Helpful 1 Helpful 4
Advertisement
Related wikiHows
How to

Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
How to

Send Your Print Job to OneNote and Publish It in PDF Format Using Office 2007
How to

Insert a Line in Word
How to

Remove a Blank Page in Word
How to

Bend Words in MS Word
How to

Add Backgrounds in Word
How to

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document
How to

Make Two Columns in Word
How to

Insert Page Numbers in Word
How to

Make a Calendar in Word
How to

Convert a JPEG Image Into an Editable Word Document
How to

Add Images to a Microsoft Word Document
Advertisement
About This Article
Co-Authored By:
wikiHow Staff Editor
This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 45
Updated: October 17, 2019
Views: 551,995
Categories: Microsoft Word
Article Summary
In other languages
Is this article up to date?
Yes No
Advertisement

CategoriesComputers and ElectronicsSoftwareOfficeMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Word

Home
About wikiHow
Jobs
Site Map
Terms of Use